BENGALURU: The Federation of Wine Merchant Associations which has been protesting for over a week, on Thursday said that there will be no sales of liquor in the state on November 20. They have been expressing their anguish against the government over the alleged corruption charges and the government's neglect of their demands.
"As the government has not been listening to our demands, we have decided to shut shops on November 20 and this will lead to a loss to the state exchequer of around Rs 120 crore," said General Secretary B. Govindaraja Hegde.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Hegde said they are banning the sale of liquor in Karnataka on November 20 to protest against the excessive corruption in the excise department and a protest will be held at Freedom Park on the same day.
"Liquor sellers are tired of being harassed by excise officials for bribes, and the sale of fake liquor in the state has also increased due to bribery by the officials. To address the issues within the Excise Department and fulfill their demands, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with the Excise and Police Departments, should convene a meeting," Hegde said. He also added that the Excise Department be merged with the Finance Department.
Hegde asserted that none of the association members wrote a letter to the Governor of Karnataka pointing to corruption. "The letter was written by an RTI activist. The association did not mention the alleged Rs 700 crore corruption in the Excise Department, which was referenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Maharashtra election rally, and this claim is not true," he said.
Speaking to the TNIE, Hegde said that they have three major demands, the government should issue appropriate directives to the Excise Department regarding police interference and the unnecessary suspension of licenses, retail liquor sales should yield at least a 20% profit, and alcohol consumption should be permitted in CL-2 licensed premises. Additional counters should only be permitted in CL-9 licensed premises, and the law should be amended to allow liquor-beer parcels, he said.
The other demands llisted by the association include:
Conciliation penalties for general prosecutions against licensees should be reduced, and penalties for unlicensed liquor sellers should be increased.
Strict legal action should be taken to control the sale of liquor in dhabas, meat hotels, and villages.
Section 29 of the Excise Act, as amended in 2005, should be reviewed and amended.
A fair decision should be taken regarding the MSIL license.
Strict action should be taken against military canteen stores, fake liquor sold under the pretense of duty-free liquor, liquor from Goa, and smuggling centers of fake liquor manufacturers.